Boulder terror attack survivor reflects one year later: "It's important not to forget"

On Sunday, community members put rocks and flowers on the new plaque in front of the Boulder Courthouse, recognizing June 1, 2025, the day a man attacked a group of peaceful marchers on Pearl Street.

It's a day Natalya Reznik will never forget.

"I mostly just try to retrace my steps and reconstruct that day. I realized how fuzzy all of my memory was, like I was sitting here on the grass, and I was looking there, and he was standing there," Reznik said.

Last June, Reznik joined a group, Run for Their Lives, who marched in Boulder to advocate for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. During the gathering, a man attacked participants by throwing Molotov cocktails into the crowd.

One person was killed, and Reznik was among at least 10 people injured.

"I felt and heard some commotion, and then there was this heat, enormous heat, that started coming from the ground, and I looked down to see what was going on, and I saw that it was just, I was engulfed in flames, I was just standing in flames," she recalled.

Reznik ran into the grass as people nearby rushed to help.

"We started crying, water, water, my husband was with me, he was yelling water, water, and then there was a girl who I really want to thank, I don't know where she came from," Reznik said, "She came back and brought some water."

As some bystanders are seen on video confronting the suspect, within minutes, first responders arrived.

"I thought, 'Oh, he's still here. Why is he still here? Where are the police?' But I was in such a shock and pain," she said, "They're saying that it was maybe four minutes, but it felt like forever."

Reznik says she was airlifted to a hospital, where she spent a week in the intensive care unit recovering from her injuries. In the weeks that followed, the group continued its efforts to advocate for the hostages. After months of recovery, Reznik said she was able to rejoin the marches.

"I felt that maybe, maybe, if there was a little, I don't know, a drop, a gram of something in the, in this whole effort, then yes, it did, it did give us purpose," she said.

The man accused of carrying out the attack, Mohammed Soliman, later pleaded guilty to state charges. He was sentenced to life in prison for the death of marcher Karen Diamond, along with more than 2,000 years in prison for dozens of additional charges.
Reznik attended his sentencing hearing in May.

"Emotionally, it was hard. I guess I hadn't even realized how much it would, how much that would bring back the thoughts of Karen gone, and the thoughts that this is absolutely irreversible," she said.

Now one year later, community members continue to honor those affected by the attack and remember the lives forever changed.

"It's important not to forget, so that doesn't happen again," Reznik said.

The state case has concluded, and Soliman's next court appearance is scheduled in federal court at the end of June.

Meanwhile, Boulder is preparing to host its Jewish festival next week, bringing the community together once again in a show of resilience and remembrance.